Willow Lane
by zigzagzoom94
Summary: Future fic.Willow lane is a small California suburb, but what will the residents make of a young couple moving into an old friend's house.
1. Chapter 1

Near the end of Willow Lane two women stood gazing at a house. It is a fairly old two storey building with a 'for sale' sign planted at the front of the yard and a moving van parked on the curb.

"It's so weird that someone's already moving into Elizabeth's house so soon after she died" said Susan.

"I know," replied Katherine "it's kind of like when you break up with a guy and the next day you find out he's got a new girlfriend and it's like, 'oh, I didn't know we were seeing other people already' ".

"Look, the moving people haven't even taken the sign down yet. These people must be pretty antsy to move in; this van doesn't even have much stuff in it."

"Speaking of which _meow_"

On cue a young man emerged from the truck. He was reasonably tall with a shaved head and wore a pair of jeans with a tight white shirt that accentuated his ripped chest.

"Katherine! He's got to be at least 10 years younger then you. Speaking of which, he can't have been out of college that long, how can he afford a place like this?"

"He's living with another guy, maybe they're both super-rich or something".

"You saw another guy? What does he look like?"

"Honestly, like the bastard child of Liberace and Elton John".

"Hey, you don't think him and the muscle guy…"

"No, don't tell me muscle guy bats for the other team. I haven't had a hot neighbour since, since Lizzie went out with that puppet guy."

"Seriously? I thought he was creepy."

"Yes Susie, but he was hot."

At this point the van drove off, so the two women approached the house armed with what Susan called welcome-to-the-neighbourhood gelato and some paper to exchange phone numbers.

"Sure, come in."

At muscle guy's invitation they made their way through to the living room, where they sat on the couch. It was weird; the familiar room still had most of the same furnishings but was otherwise bare. Elizabeth didn't have any children or close family and the loan people had taken most of the things of any value, and it didn't seem like the new proprietors were going to refurbish it any time soon.

"I'm just putting the gelato in the fridge, do either of you want some coffee."

"We're fine, thanks."

"That's good because I don't think we have any coffee."

As he joined them the other man made his way down the stairs.

"I just finished putting away the last box but we're going to have to unpack properly if- oh hello, I didn't know we had company."

"I suppose I should introduce us. I'm Susan Derkins and this is my-our neighbour Katherine Fairchild."

"My name is Noah Puckerman and he is Kurt Hummel."

"Well I live next door and Kathy here is just across the road so if you need any help setting up, well, I have a husband who can do all the heavy lifting." Susan laughed.

"I really like what you've done with the place" said Kathy, indicating the sparse room and eliciting a glance from Kurt.

After a moment of silence Susan decided to broach the subject. "So, it's interesting that you're two guys who own a house together."

Kurt spoke up "He's my boyfriend if that's what you're trying to ask."

Susan was ready to jump in with an interjection; she knew from experience that this was the point where Katherine would say something inappropriate; but instead she seemed to be happily staring into space, apparently having already lost interest in the new neighbours.

After some more prying the women found out that the two had been a couple since high school. Whilst Kurt had attended a performing arts college "slaving under the spotlight" an uncle of Puck's had gotten him employment at a recording studio that produced animated television shows. After working as an assistant for years Puck was 'discovered' and offered a role as a voice actor for his variety of voices and impressions, which was something of an undiscovered talent. Kurt and Puck had decided that after Kurt graduated they would live together, having had to maintain a semi-long-distance relationship. However Puck was offered a role on an animated show by Fox on the agreement that he move to California, where it is being produced. So Puck's generous uncle loaned them the payment for a nearby "house in the 'burbs", which the girls assumed would be selling at a low price on account of the whole previous-owner-dying-in-mysterious-circumstances thing.

The first thing Katherine thought was 'who is this uncle and where can I get one?'

The first thing Susan thought was 'there is clearly so much more to this that they're not telling us yet'. But this was fine for now. There is a saying amongst the housewives on Willow Lane: There is always more prying to be done.

**I wanted to write a Puck/Kurt story and decided to set it in the future to avoid the tricky situation of how they actually got together. ****As far as you're concerned Puck spent the intervening years between this and high school making up to Kurt for being an ass, wooing him, etc.**

**As for the whole house in the suburbs thing I honestly don't know where that came from. I hope you accept my flimsily constructed explanation for why Kurt and Puck are living together in some Stepford suburbia (don't squint too hard; I admit it makes little sense).**

**By the way I'm not a massive Desperate Housewives fan so it wasn't until after I finished this that I realised how similar my fic is.**

**Anyway, hopefully my next author's notes won't be so long.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Don't expect massive chapter updates like this all the time, this is just celebration because i've got a weeks holiday (yay).**

Noah Puckerman still firmly believed that he and his boyfriend were in the can't-keep-their-hands-off-each-other stage in their relationship. They were finally living together and had spent every night cuddling up in bed (admittedly there was only one bed in the house and it was the right size that two people could sleep on the together but wouldn't have much personal space. Whoever it was that used to own this house, Puck thought, either never had anybody over or had specifically designed it such that any misfortunate guy playing the role of guest would be forced to spend the night snuggling with the woman). He was also aware that people in that stage were supposed to be so sickeningly in adoration of one another that they were blind of each others faults, so how had they managed to sneak in there? Puck thought this as he lay awake in the morning. He didn't have to be at his new job for a while but Kurt had woken him up to begin his moisturising routine, which seem to last from 6-8am. Seriously, where did he get all this stuff from?

Puck was also acutely aware that Kurt felt the same. The clue had probably been when Kurt started shouting at him for leaving his clothes in a messy pile by their bed.

It was Wednesday morning that he finally brought this up with Kurt.

* * *

"I know who you are! You're the guy who's obsessed with being neat. You have to pay the bills as soon as they come through the mailbox. You stay awake all night because there's still some washing up in the sink, and probably sneak out at two am to finish it so you can get some sleep. You bitch about your roommates leaving you to do all the cleaning but they would do it themselves if you just waited instead of having to sort it out right away."

Kurt opened his mouth to deliver a scathing retort. And closed it. Since when had Puck been so perceptive?

Then Puck did something Kurt didn't expect; he laughed.

"You know having a cleaning-obsessed housewife isn't just useful, it's also adorable. And you are no way _near_ as neurotic as some other people I've lived with." By this point Puck had moved forwards so there noses were inches apart. Then a car horn sounded from outside and they broke apart. "One of the other employees said she'd give me a lift."

With a jerk Kurt rushed outside after his boyfriend. "Wait you forgot the lunch I made." Kurt handed him a brown paper bag. I was going to make some of my zucchini bread but the store didn't have any organic produce, the best think I could find was some chilli tacos." Puck noticed Kurt smile as he pretended to have not remembered what Puck's favourite food is.

What followed was a kiss that both men swore they'd been the one to initiate. Kurt had intended for it to be a quick have-a-good-day-at-work peck on the lips, but the cut-off point for that had passed by a few seconds ago, so it looked like it's more of a-

"Faggots"

Kurt's hand tightened around his partners shoulder, only for a second but Puck still felt it. He surveyed the area but didn't see anyone else around, perhaps the person had immediately ducked indoors.

"So you're back around five then. Bye honey."

Apparently they were pretending that nothing had just happened. Silently Puck nodded and wandered over to the car in their driveway, driven by an irate-looking woman with a bun of dirty blonde hair and wearing a smart black pantsuit.

* * *

It turned out that the blonde, mousey woman's full name was Irene Sherman. She's one of the main brains in the casting department and seemed to take a critical interest in any new voice actors. Currently she was staring at Puck from a nearby dining table.

"So I see you've warranted the wrath of the Sherminator," said his new friend Zane "don't worry, that only lasts until either someone new joins the cast or you die. Whichever comes last."

Zane wiped his greasy hands on a plain black jumper, then ran them through his hair, which is short, black and styled so that it streaks to the back of his head, giving the impression that he has been blasted in the face with a tank turret or is standing in front of a very powerful fan.

"My favourite's the New York Yankees."

"You're into baseball? I've only been living in the area a couple of days but I got the impression that it's more of a football place."

"That's just because there's a football pitch nearby, but I can tell you there are a few dedicated baseballers in this very lunch room."

Since it was his first day Puck decided he had better behave himself and not 'ham it up' during the first script reading. Of course it didn't help that Zane was making faces at him across the table.

Meanwhile, in the corner of the room, Irene Sherman glared quietly.

* * *

Because the oven didn't work they had been forced to stick to preparing ready-made meals in a rather old looking microwave. Typical, thought Kurt, of course the oven doesn't work, the house was so cheap. Nevertheless Kurt had managed to locate the loose piece of metal jamming the oven, or to be more precise attempting to dislodge it with a steak knife whilst balancing on a can of paint to gain leverage. In hindsight he realised this wasn't the safest thing to do. It was whilst taking his frustration out on the piece of metal that had forced him to eat all that processed junk that the can buckled, causing Kurt to fall backwards and splattering both him and the wall with bright red paint. In the middle of the splatter Kurt's figure was silhouetted with his arms in the air like in a cartoon. He would have found this amusing if he wasn't in a foul mood; a large purple bruise was developing on his backside and the paint had just ruined his expensive Marc-Jacobs designer jacket. Someone knocked on the door and it was swung open from the inside.

"What?"

Standing there was a man; Kurt guessed 30-something. He has short brown hair and has a good physique underneath the large, white coveralls and he looks absolutely terrified.

"Are you Kurt Hummel?" Kurt nodded. "My name is Daniel Derkins. My wife Susan talked to you a few days ago."

At this point Kurt became aware of the fact that he was standing in the doorway with a deranged expression, clutching a steak knife and splattered in red liquid. Kurt lowered the knife, which he had raised to…do nothing.

"Oh, come in."

The man approached the splash of red on the wall, which showed the shape of a falling person that had been left clean like a life-size stencil. Kurt had previously thought that the cluttered mess looked like the result of a previous owner who had not been bothered to tidy, but now walking through with Daniel he realised it closer resembled the scene of a struggle between two people. On the kitchen table lay the morning paper, open at an article entitled "police unable to find evidence for suspected murder on Willow Lane". On the other side was the cryptic crossword; the only clue that had been filled in was the word 'mutilation'. It was the only clue Kurt had been able to figure out, and he was so proud he had emphatically underlined the word 'mutilation' and flanked it with triple exclamation marks.

There was an awkward silence.

"I'm not a serial killer."

"I didn't think you were" replied Daniel.

"Now I do."

Kurt realised he was joking. "I'll just be upstairs getting changed."

When he came down he recognised Susan next to her husband. "Dan; tidy up this room, Kurt; you're coming with me."

Soon they were seated in the living room on either side of the wooden coffee table.

"You really don't need to get Dan to help around the house."

"Nonsense, what do you need him to do. Clean out the gutters? Grout and tile the bathroom?"

Kurt shifted in his seat. "Well there is a large paint stain on the kitchen wall that needs cleaning before it dries." Susan raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

As if on cue Daniel entered. "I've sorted most of the clutter but I don't know where a lot of it goes."

"Love you Danny" said Susan whilst taking hold of his hand.

"Love you too Susie" replied Daniel dreamily.

"You know what else I love?" asked Susan. By this point he was practically on her lap, their mouths barely apart. "Thoroughly scrubbed kitchen walls." At this Daniel plodded off to the other room, clearly disappointed.

Kurt was in awe: he was clearly in the presence of a master.

"Me and Katherine thought you might want a hand with the housework, since you've just moved in. Plus you haven't exactly had the chance to socialise so I came over."

"Is Katherine the one with the long, curly, ginger hair?"

"Yeah, the one who came over with me on Sunday."

* * *

"Kurt, why is there a topless guy in the kitchen? Not that I'm complaining."

"Susan lent us her boy-toy to help do the housework. And I guess he got hot."

Another thing Puck noticed was that they now talked about boy-toy as if he wasn't in the room.

In the living room Kurt was in full cleaning getup, including a red polka dot headscarf he had found somewhere, and seemed to be entirely focusing his efforts on one spot.

"What do you think?"

Puck was going to point out that even with all the cleaning the entire house wasn't exactly going to win any housekeeping awards but decided against it.

He remembered the time in high school when they had told that the air conditioning system was notoriously filthy and as such constantly spewed germs into the air, causing her to have a minor nervous breakdown.

"It looks great Kurt." He leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "So do you."

"Cheesiest line ever" commented Kurt, blushing profusely.

"So how was your first day at work?"

"It was great. I get to play this character that's Italian and I've got to do the accent as well."

Removing the headscarf and placing it on the coffee table, Kurt followed his boyfriend through to the kitchen. It was no Broadway, but maybe Kurt could get to used to this.


	3. Chapter 3

Kurt Hummel still firmly believed he and his boyfriend were in the cliché romantic give-him-a-kiss-before-he-leaves-for-work stage in their relationship. He had been painting the wall and was thinking hard about their relationship, which was no easy feat as the paint fumes were practically intoxicating. Predictably Kurt seemed to have ended up in the 'stereotypical housewife' role. Kurt had been dead set that after graduation he and Puck would move in together so when Puck's uncle found him a great job that required him to move here it meant Kurt wouldn't be living in, say, New York or Hollywood after all. Which Kurt thought he was ok with, but now he wasn't so sure.

* * *

Kurt had had to re-paint a section of the kitchen and decided whilst he was at it he might as well paint over the slightly crumbly paint job in the living room. He heard the door slam shut.

"Honey, I'm home."

Kurt continued to move the paint roller up and down the wall and he felt a strong pair of arms wrap themselves around his waist.

"You wouldn't believe what a day I've had" spoke a voice directly into his ear.

"Be careful or I'll get paint on you." Kurt downed the roller and removed his coverall before making his way to the sofa with Puck.

"I kind of wanted to talk to you about something" said Kurt.

"Yeah."

"Well I'm the one with a performing arts degree and my boyfriend already has an acting job."

"If you wanted to get a job I'm pretty sure there's an opening at work. It's only one line but if you impress them you could go onto something bigger."

"That sounds fantastic."

"I think it will be good for you to get out of the house and do something."

Kurt reached across and kissed his boyfriend.

"I'd better go and sort out dinner, I've had a chicken in the oven whilst I've been painting."  
"Do you want me to help?"

"That's ok, I experienced your culinary skill when you tried to make me a romantic meal."  
"The problem wasn't my culinary skill. The man said to buy the lobster live and cook it in boiling water and it…managed to escape."

"So we ended up eating baked beans on toast."  
"It was the best I could come up with at such short notice."

"Did you ever find out what happened to your little escapee?"  
"I believe he severely injured the neighbour's dog-likely in self-defence mind you" he added in response to Kurt's raised eyebrows.

* * *

Susan stepped out of the dressing room. Her blonde hair was straight and cut off just above her shoulders. She wore a black, clean-cut suit over a white shirt, which was tight as to emphasize her chest. However her heels, like her personality, were sensible.

"Katherine this outfit makes me look like a slutty secretary!"

"That's totally what I was going for," replied a woman with a head of bushy ginger curls; Katherine, "What do you think Molly?"

Next to her stood a slightly taller brunette woman. She didn't say anything at first, apparently staring into space, before announcing:

"I think I have a crush on the guy who lives opposite me."

"Is he the one that had a schizophrenic attack?" asked Katherine.

"No, he's the one that got drunk and wrapped his Volkswagen round a tree."

"Oh, he's really cute."

Susan wore a bemused smile through this. In many comedy groups it was one person's role to be the 'straight man', the ordinary person surrounded by crazy characters, and Susan was resigned to the simple fact that this was usually her.

"Molly," said Susan as she carefully wrapped her hair into a bun, "don't you find it ironic that you're a couple's counsellor who can't seem to have a healthy, balanced relationship?"

Molly grinned, "I like bad boys."

"Totally know what you mean."

Susan emerged from the changing room brandishing the suit on a clothes hanger. "I've was thinking maybe we should invite Kurt to one of our little get-togethers. I saw him the other day and he seemed to be doing nothing but housework."

"Susan, you're doing it all wrong," complained Katherine, "you're supposed to say 'speaking of bad boys' and swing the subject over to Kurt's hunk of a boyfriend."

"You know, I'm yet to meet these neighbours you're always going on about" commented Molly.

"Allow us to fill you in over at the food court."

* * *

"You know, this isn't really what I had in mind." Kurt looked down at the cafeteria-worker uniform, including black short-sleeved shirt and pair of black shorts he ad described as 'distinctly un-fabulous'.

"Sorry honey, this was the only opening I could find."

"Why is that woman staring at me?"

"Oh, that's Irene Sherman. Anyway, I've got to get back to work, but it was good to see you." Puck dumped his empty tray in front of a despondent Kurt and walked off next to his co-worker Zane. They left the dining room and entered a small room.

"What are you doing here?"

Standing in front of them was a tall, muscled man with neat black hair.

"Would you mind filling me in?" asked Zane.

"This is my neighbour Daniel Derkins."

"I brought I package, I don't know whether either of you could sign for it?"

"I didn't know you did deliveries" said Puck.

"Yeah, my company's branching out" Daniel replied awkwardly.

Zane took the clipboard and signed for it whilst Daniel hefted a large box wrapped in brown paper.

"Hey Zane, could I ask you something? Is it a good idea to work with your spouse?"

Zane scratched the smattering of hairs on his chin. "Well I suppose it might be a bit annoying if you're spending all of your time with this person."

"I don't know what you two are talking about," interjected Daniel, "I love spending time with Suzy. In fact-" He was interrupted by his phone ringing. "Hello, oh hi honey. Sure I could pick that up on the way home from work. OK, but if I'm stopping by the shops on the way home I won't have time to draw you a bath as well. Fine, I'll do all three. I love y-" At this point the connection appeared to be cut off.

"I'd better hurry up and get going then" said Daniel before departing in a hurry. Puck couldn't help but feel his point had been undermined somewhat.

* * *

"Bye Irene." Stepping out of the car, Puck glanced back at the scowling woman before stepping towards his house. Kurt had got off work before him so had taken a taxi home.

"Hey honey. Great news, we're now officially moved in."

"Uh Kurt, we've lived here for almost a week now."

"Yes but I've finally finished unpacking the last box."

Puck hung his coat up by the door. "But we only had, like, two boxes. And most of it was your stuff."

Kurt smiled and pulled his boyfriend into a kiss. "Since it's the weekend I've got a brilliant idea," said Kurt "let's have a house party, you know, get to know all the neighbours."

Puck looked doubtful.

Kurt dragged him into the living room. "Oh, come on, can't you just visualise it, We'd have:"

Blue ribbons adorned the top of the walls and silver balloons hung in the corner. Guests milled about in the slightly cramped living room, where the lights we're dimmed, and made conversation with the familiar faces they saw every day. Kurt emerged from the dining room in a grey dinner jacket and blue bowtie, with a tray of drinks perched on one hand. He then proceeded to flit from guest to guest offering finger food and glasses of champagne.

"Will you be doing that all night?"

"Puck, I'm a social butterfly, this is what I do. Now come on, you should be mingling." Kurt regarded Puck critically. "You could have at least worn something smart."  
Puck looked down at the offending items of clothing; a wife-beater vest and pair of jeans. "They don't have any holes in or anything."

"Well I hope you're not planning on going to work looking like that, I want my boyfriend to look proper."

"You already sound like one of the Willow Lane girls" came the voice of Susan from behind Kurt. "I must say this party is pretty impressive, well done. I'm assuming it came from the organisational hand of Kurt, no offense ."

"None taken" Puck replied as he tried to slip into the crowd and mingle, or at least escape Kurt's abrasive attitude.

"You might want to put the drinks tray down Kurt. Molly Walker from down the street has decided she's going to be your friend, so I thought I should warn you."

"What do you mean-"

Suddenly a brunette woman emerged from the crowd and grabbed him by the wrist.

"You must be Kurt Hummel, I've heard so much about you." The woman, Molly, dragged him over to a group of fold out chairs in the corner where Katherine was already sitting, with Susan at their heels.

Kurt grinned. "Is this The Housewives of Willow Lane?"

The girl looked at one another. "Actually, I'm the only one who's married," informed Susan "these two are single".

Molly coughed. "Actually, I've managed to snag a boyfriend now."

"The guy who wrapped a Volkswagen around a tree?" asked Katherine.

"OK fine, I admit it, I like dysfunctional guys. That's probably why I became a couple's counsellor."

"Kurt frowned. "You're a couple's counsellor who can't hold down a boyfrie-"

"Yes, that point's already been made."

Katherine decided to interject, "It's a shame about your boyfriend though. All the cute guys are either married or gay."

"Actually Puck's bisexual."

Katherine abruptly stood up from her chair. "Challenge accepted." She then marched out into the crowd.

Kurt watched her with a worried expression. "Is she always like that?"

"I wouldn't worry. When she first met Daniel I think she got a crush on him. Ended up spending all her time around us."

Molly noticed this didn't make him any less worried. Susan continued talking, since no-one else seemed to be offering an alternative. "Me and Daniel first started dating in high school, and we've been married for a couple of years. Anyway, we've all told you about our relationships, now you have to tell us about you and your boyfriend."

"Well we also met in high school; we were both in the school's Glee club." Kurt smiled as he remembered Mercedes and Finn and , and all the other. "It wasn't exactly a match made in heaven, to be honest. Our Glee club was used to ridiculous amounts of relationship drama and it was still pretty bad by those standards, but we got through t. After high school I went to a performing arts college and we continued a long distance relationship, one thing led to another and now I live in a quiet suburban area with my teen crush."

"You say that like it's a bad thing" replied Katherine.

Kurt smiled. He really enjoyed spending time with the three women, he hadn't had this much fun since college.

* * *

Puck was sitting in the kitchen with Daniel and Zane, who he had insisted on inviting.

"You're looking a bit green in the face," voiced Daniel, "you might want to try not to get drunk in front of your new neighbours and co-worker."

"I've only had two drinks" complained Puck as he glared at the dregs in the bottom of his glass.

"Aww, can Puckie not hold his alcohol" jested Zane with a grin.

Puck stood up unsteadily. "I think I'm just going to get some fresh air."

Once he was outside he promptly vomited in a nearby bush. God, Noah Puckerman is wasted after two glasses, that's not very badass. Then he realised his train of thoughts and quickly changed it to 'Noah Puckerman is drinking too much alcohol, that's not responsible, mature behaviour'.

Still, vomiting seemed to sober him up a bit as he managed to make out a figure in the darkness.

"Fancy finding you here." Her words were slightly slurred and it was clear from her uneasy stature that she was drunk. Then she took a few steps closer and Puck realised who she was.

"Katherine?"

"You're so hot." At this distance Puck could tell her breath reeked of alcohol, which was the last thought that went through his head before Katherine shoved her tongue down his throat.

**Shocking. Anyway, sorry this chapter took so long i.e. 4 months in the making. I've just had 12 exams in the space of 2 months, and I decided to hold off on the fanfiction whilst revising. Also this chapter is longer than I planned; I just enjoyed writing the party scene so much. I'm not sure whether excessive alcohol consumption is skirting over the T rating, but the characters got a bit out of control. Oh well, Glee got away with it so I don't see why not.**


	4. Chapter 4

"You called saying we had a code purple so I brought DVDs and ice cream" Molly called from the porch of Susan's house. The morning sun illuminated Susan sitting cross-legged on a chair, and on the adjacent sofa a distraught Kurt Hummel was wringing an expensive fuchsia scarf through his hands and coming dangerously close to damaging an item of clothing. "It's Ben & Jerry's Phish Phood" she called but to no effect. "I'll just dish it up in the kitchen; you two can start without me."

Susan snapped out of her reverie. "Molly you're here. Now then Kurt, feel free to tell us what's going on with you and Puck. Start from the beginning.

"Well the first fight we got into since moving here was a few days ago. I was really irritated and started saying I could probably be on Broadway by now and he said that he isn't forcing me to live with him. We both said some things we didn't mean but managed to sort it out."

"Is that what this is about? That's not too bad; it's just a little fight. Perfectly normal."

Kurt looked up at Susan. "I'm just getting started."

* * *

The night after the party and Puck was sitting in the garden. Truth be told he had been sitting in the same spot for over half an hour.

Through a haze of alcohol Puck saw an elderly man approach him, a man with straggly grey hair, a scar above his right eye and an unpleasant expression.

"'Sup faggot" the man sneered down at him. In Puck's mind the strong desire to punch the man in the face was quelled by the unlikelihood he would be able to walk in a straight line

The man was waving something in his face and he focused on a picture of him and Katherine kissing.

Oh god, he has a picture of him and Katherine kissing.

"Well that got your attention, 'aint it. I'm thinking your little ladyboy won't want to see this picture."

Puck gathered his thoughts together. "You're trying to blackmail me?"

That wasn't right, that would make this some shameful secret. It isn't even Puck's fault some cougar Kurt invited came and snogged him.

"Get off my property." It's a phrase Puck has always wanted to say, he thinks as the man walks off with a heavy scowl.

Puck should tell Kurt. Yes, these things are so much worse otherwise. Puck would tell him right now-no, no he would tell him in the morning. At this point Puck keeled backwards onto the decking and fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

* * *

"I just feel like I've been really stressed by the move and that's why we keep getting into fights." By this point in the conversation Susan is on her third cup of coffee. Next to Kurt Molly is tucking into a bowl of Ben & Jerry's and Susan is giving her a look that says ice-cream-is-for-the-romantically-depressed-not-you. "Anyway, I feel a lot better having gotten all this off my chest, thanks for giving me someone to talk to."

"Oh sure, anytime," Susan remarks "to be honest I think you're just having trouble adjusting to living with someone. Happens to everyone."

Molly nods with a mouthful of ice cream.

"Well that isn't the only reason I wanted to talk to you two." Kurt pulls something out of his pocket. "The morning after the party I bumped into this old man. Has a scar above his eye."

"That's . I don't talk to him, he isn't very nice."

"Anyway he gave me this." Kurt produced a photo of Puck and Katherine locking lips.

Susan visibly seethed. "I am going to kill her."

Molly peered at the photo. "Kurt I don't want you to jump to conclusions, this might not be what it looks like."

"When we were teenagers Puck slept with pretty much every girl in the school. He got his best friend's girlfriend pregnant."

"Ahh."

"I am going to kill her" Susan repeated.

"The thing is now I keep thinking loads of irrational thoughts. What if the only reason Puck was satisfied with a long distance relationship during college was because he was cheating on me?"

"Listen Kurt, the best thing you can do now is talk to Puck and get this cleared up. If it's an honest mistake he'll be willing to talk it out."

As if on cue Susan's door slammed shut. "Susan, I've got a headache that could slay a walrus."

Susan was on her feet immediately. "Katherine Fairchild you are unbelievable. We know that you made out with Kurt's boyfriend, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Katherine looked visibly pained. "I made a mistake. I'm really sorry Kurt, I was really drunk and-"

"Oh what a surprise."

"-I'm really sorry for coming on to your boyfriend."

"You know what Katherine," said Susan "you've crossed the line. People always ask me why I'm friends with you and at the moment I honestly don't know."

"Unresolved sexual tension" muttered Molly in a voice she had meant to be too quiet for them to hear."

"So just to clarify you're the one who was kissing Puck?" came Kurt's voice from the end of the sofa.

"From what I can remember he didn't kiss back. Then I vomited in your primroses-sorry-and he directed me to the bathroom."

Whilst Susan and Katherine argued Kurt thought about how easily he had blamed Puck instead of trusting him. Something wasn't right here.

* * *

Puck was sitting in the living room feeling the most under the weather he had ever felt when Kurt and Molly entered through the front door.

"Kurt!" Puck pulled him into a tight embrace "I was worried about where you where." Kurt simply hugged his boyfriend back as he remembered how awful it felt when he thought he might have lost him.

"Listen Puck, the two of us need to have a talk-don't make that face, it's not that kind of talk-after I've straightened up." Kurt indicated his uncharacteristically dishevelled hair and sauntered upstairs.

"I was hoping to talk to you. As you might know I am a relationship councillor and I would like the two of you to have a meeting with me."

"I don't know if we can afford couples' therapy."

"It's completely free. I'm not offering this to you as a client; I'm offering it to you as a friend."

Puck grinned and he suddenly looked much more tired. "You really think we need counselling?"

"The reason I'm concerned is that Kurt seems to have problems trusting you. And you need to ignore the negative stigma of therapy. All couples run through some rough patches and get into fights; I'm just offering this because I kind of, really want you two to work out."

After a moment of silence Puck asks "Can I talk to you about something?"

"You can tell me anything."

""When we were in high school I was kind of a dick. Me and the other jocks used to bully Kurt all the time and I've always felt guilty since then. The thing is when Kurt was a teenager he had to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders. I think he has a tendency to internalise his problems instead of talking about them and I'm worried one day it'll build up and he'll just, pop, or something."

Molly had an unusually serious expression. "I'll bear that in mind."

The grin was back on Puck's face. "Oh boy do we have some good stories about high school. Our relationship drama was bad by the standards of the Glee club, which is really saying something."

"It's still Sunday morning, were the two of you planning on doing anything?"

"I was planning a little something but don't tell Kurt, it's going to be a surprise."

* * *

The sun had just set, the air was very chilly and Kurt was appropriately grumpy as he trailed after his boyfriend.

"Are we almost there yet?"

"Just a bit more."

Then they passed some trees and emerged into a clearing where Puck was already laying out a blanket. Kurt realised they were going to look at the stars just like they used to.

Kurt laid his head on Puck's chest as he usually did and stared up at the sky, trying to identify constellations and listening to the steady rise and fall of Puck's chest. After about fifteen minutes Puck starts to speak, which is unusual because normally the point of their stargazing is to forget about their life problems and lose themselves in the sky.

"Do you think it was a mistake, to try to carry on this relationship after high school?"

It's a familiar thought, one Kurt has also thought about very often.

"Sometimes I worry about the fact this is the only proper relationship I've ever been in" replies Kurt.

"It's just, I've put so much work into this relationship and I've given up so much to be with you, done things I never thought I'd do. What if I just don't want to give you up even though we actually make a terrible couple?"

Kurt considers what Puck has said for a moment then takes hold of his hand in a gesture of romance he realises they haven't done since moving in together.

"Maybe all that really matters is how we feel about each other." They look into each other's eyes and without saying anything Puck kisses him, an action that is reassuringly familiar and yet still exciting, and Kurt kisses him back as the two lay down underneath the twinkling stars.

**I've had the idea for this chapter in my head since chapter one, though I've edited it about 50 times before posting and I'm still not entirely satisfied by the ending.**

**Unfortunately this is the final chapter. I liked the idea behind this story but it's taken me six months just to write four chapters and to be honest I'm not sure if it's the best I've written. Still, I'm happy I got it to a conclusion.**

**Not to worry, I am planning on writing a prequel to Willow Lane that looks at how Puck and Kurt got together in high school. Not exactly an original premise, but I at least have lots of ideas.**

**Finally, I can't believe I haven't said this yet but thanks to everyone who reviewed and favourited. Really, I know this is said a lot but it genuinely means a lot to me.**


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